Back From the Dead a Tears of the Sun Fanfic
by aWarrior213
Summary: Lake wasn't dead when the remaining members of the team were evacuated. And how did they retrieve the bodies of their fallen brothers. With the help of an angel on the run. My first fanfic. Feedback would be great.
1. Chapter 1

Fallen trees. Dead bodies. Smoke. Signs of a battle mark the jungle. One of the bodies is different, though. He isn't dead. Not yet anyway. Another person moves out of the treeline and hurries to his side. She kneels down and carefully rolls him off of the body of the girl he was protecting. During the battle, she had watched him closely, as she had through the team's entire mission.

He had been quiet and efficient, a great scout, but he had the detached coolness of a warrior. He had seen more than his share of evil, and this mission had been one of the worst. He hadn't even wanted to help all these people. At one point he had been asked for his opinion and in his weariness said the team should abandon the refugees. But the lieutenant said that the team was going to save the people, so he would follow his commander, whether he liked it or not. In the end he had ended up getting shot along with the girl he was protecting.

But the warrior wasn't dead yet.

"Hey," a soft voice says. "Stay with me. You aren't done yet, Warrior."

Hands press him, and he fades into unconsciousness.

Rushing winds. Helicopter blades whirring. Sand stinging his skin. Voices shouting. Growling and snarling. The feeling of being lifted.

He wakes up to the sound of a monitor beeping. He looks at the chair next to his bed and sees his commander asleep. Then he feels the needles in his arms and all the wires connected to him. With this consciousness comes the pain. Not horrible just the pain he knows from previous bullet wounds. His commander awakens as he is looking around the sick bay.

"I can't believe you made it," he states. "I wouldn't believe it till you were conscious."

"Where am I," he asks. "How did I get here?"

"Lake, what is the last thing you remember," the lieutenant asks.

"I remember going back to save one of the refugees instead of bounding like I supposed to. I got shot and so did she. I knew that we were both dead. Everything kinda faded for a while, then someone was talking to me and touching me. I thought…" his voice trails off.

"Thought what," LT asks.

"I thought it was an angel," Lake says. "But that couldn't be for lots of reasons."

"Why is that?"

"Never mind."

"Well let me go find the doc, then I'll tell the rest of the team that they can see you now."

"Wait. How many made it?"

"Doc, Red, Me, and Zee. Zee was badly hurt, he is in the bay next door."

With that LT Waters walks out of the room, leaving Lake wondering what had happened. LT Waters was holding something back. His eyes had shown something when he mentioned the angel. It was brief, but Lake's scout eyes were as sharp as ever, injured as he was. The other thought on his mind was getting out of the sick bay. Lake was just reaching for the needles when the doctor came in.

"Leave those in," the doctor tells him. "they can come out when I discharge you, not before."

"So what is wrong with me and how long do I have to stay in Sick Bay?" Lake asks.

"Well you suffered severe blood loss, worse even than your friend Zee. Not to mention the tissue damage caused by the bullets. The bullets missed your organs, but they did nick an artery. You're lucky she found you, before you bled out," The doctor says, but then looks away quickly. He too is holding something back. And who is SHE?

"You said 'She.' Who is 'She?'"

"I can't tell you anything," he says then leaves.

Great, he thinks. No help there. Maybe the rest of the team would help.

The sound of footsteps reached Lake, but he could he hear them whispering before they came in. They were arguing about something.

"Sir, I think he deserves to know," that was Doc.

"What would it help for him to know that she is real," Waters asks.

"You know he is a straightshooter, he likes to know the facts, and the fact is she saved him," that from Red.

"Yes but he will want to see her, and you know that when he is told he can't, he might well hurt himself trying to get to her," LT says.

"I don't understand why he can't see her," Red whispered fiercely.

"Because she is a prisoner," LT Waters said angrily.

"Generally in a hospital setting you are supposed to be quiet," Lake calls out.

Silence. Then they slowly walk in and stare uncomfortably at each other.

Lake breaks the silence first.

"Who is SHE? And why is she a prisoner," he asks.

"We don't know," LT Waters says.

"You don't know who she is or you don't know why she is a prisoner," Lake asks.

"Both," Red says. "She won't tell us anything."

"Then why is she a prisoner," Lake asks again.

"We don't know. Even the chain of command doesn't know," this from the LT.

"Let me talk to her," Lake says.

"Negative on that. You are NOT leaving this room without the doc's permission or mine," Waters says. "You have to let your body heal itself. Traipsing around this ship is not going to help you heal."

"I don't care about that right now. I need to talk to her," Lake said vehemently. "Please LT, arrange it somehow."

"You know LT, the doc said he couldn't leave, but that doesn't mean she can't come here," Doc suggested.

"She is a prisoner, they won't turn her loose," Waters reminds them.

"Sir, where is she going to go? This ship is at least a hundred miles from shore and well away from merchant traffic," Red says. "Why not have her guards escort her up?"

"And what about the beast she keeps with her? He won't leave her side, and he is not afraid to bite," The LT says, but he sounds open to the idea.

"I noticed the dog is highly obedient to voice commands, and if her interest was escaping, why wouldn't they have fought for it when they were picked up," Doc asks.

"Wait! Hold on," Lake says. "Would someone please explain to me what happened after the battle in the jungle?"

LT Waters and the others look at each other, then Lake. LT Waters clears his throat and recounts what happened.

"After the battle, we were loaded onto a bird in Cameroon. They brought us back here and started to treat our wounds. Then the captain says they received a radio transmission saying that we'd left a warrior behind. They asked who and this person said that one of the warriors wasn't dead yet when we'd escaped. The person also said that they'd removed the bodies of our fallen from the jungle and had extracted them over the Cameroon border. They were already prepping a team to go back and retrieve the fallen, so Commander Rhodes and I went back with the team to verify. About a mile from where we were picked up at the Cameroon border, we saw the LZ markers she had set up. About one hundred yards from there we saw her leaning over you, protecting you from the sand and rocks kicked up by our landing. She had also laid out the bodies of our fallen. We still don't know if she truly did that."

"Why," Lake asks.

"Because the bodies were spread out across three miles or so," The LT says. "There is no way she could have moved all the bodies by herself over that distance in that amount of time. Especially with the fire from the bombs. She would have had to have gone two miles around it."

"And because she won't talk to us, we can't even get her to explain how she did it," Red says. "The markers for the LZ were in standard military formation. She also used proper radio procedure, when she called it in. I still don't understand why she didn't fight when we told her she was under arrest. She seemed to expect it. And I still don't understand why she is under arrest. She is a hero. You heard the doc. He said she saved Lake's life!"

"Red, we know." Doc says calmly. "But the chain of command was told there are warrants out for her arrest."

"I still don't like this." Red fumes.

"None of us do," LT Waters says.

"Sir, let me try and talk to her," Lake says.

"I'll ask, but I don't know if the command will approve," Waters states.

"If her guards are here and we are here, it should be pretty secure," Doc suggests. "She would certainly have enough supervision."

"Like I said, I'll talk to Commander Rhodes and see what can be arranged," LT says.

After that the team starts talking about what is on their schedule next. LT tells them that as soon as Zee is healthy enough to move they will all be sent to Kaiserslautern, Germany. That way Zee can finish recuperating at Laundstuhl Regional Medical Center. They would be placed on leave for at least a month. The team made plans to go out and enjoy themselves, but at the same time there was not as much joy as on previous leaves. Everyone was remembering the losses they had sustained on this mission. Then the doctor came in and said that Lake needed to rest. As the team was leaving, Lake called the LT over.

"LT, don't forget to talk to Commander Rhodes," Lake reminds him.

"I will talk to him, but I don't promise anything," LT warns.

With that the commander left, leaving Lake wide awake and wondering. Lake went over the conversations in his mind, trying to piece together the memories. He vaguely remembered a soft voice talking to him and couldn't suppress his initial thought of an angel. But he knew it couldn't be an angel. There was no way an angel would be sent to help him. Not for everything he'd seen and done. Still he wondered who this "angel" was. Finally sleep overtook him.

The next morning, Red was the first one to visit. He is a good teammate, trustworthy and capable, he is a great friend too. He says he has some news.

"So I may have conveniently heard an interesting conversation between the LT and Rhodes," Red says mischievously. "LT left from here yesterday and went straight to Rhodes to ask. Rhodes doesn't know why she was arrested either, and Command doesn't want us to ask. But LT suggested that it would be for improving your health so you wouldn't do something stupid, like try to take out your IVs and walk down to the brig. Rhodes went up the chain, and somehow got them to agree. So you should be getting a visit from a petite and attractive female."


	2. Chapter 2

Later as the doctor was checking Lake's wounds, Commander Rhodes and Lieutenant Waters came in and sat down, followed by Doc and Red. No one said anything until the doctor left. Commander Rhodes spoke first.

"I imagine you'll have a lot of questions to ask her," he begins. "We need to know a few things as well. We need to know who she is, how did she do the things she did, and what she has been doing. I'd also like to know why she is wanted, although her answer won't change the fact that she is still a prisoner."

"So you want me to take advantage of the possibility that she may talk to me," Lake asks incredulously. "I owe her my life, sir! How do you know she'll even tell me anything?"

"We think she will talk to you," Rhodes says. "She has asked about you every day since we brought you back."

Before Lake could ask any more questions, he heard footsteps and a scuffling. Following that came a voice, an angry voice.

"Do it again," the voice dared. "Do it again and you'll regret it."

Definitely a female voice, Lake thinks to himself. She sounds Australian. Not what the angel had sounded like.

Then a small brunette came through the door with a dusty red dog at her heel, followed by two surly looking guards. The dog turned and faced the two guards, growling, with its hackles raised.

Lake's scout eyes quickly study her features. She stands about 5'1", long dark brown hair in a ponytail, small frame, but curvy. Big brown eyes. Eyes that contain fire and spirit. He also studies the dog that stands between her and every other person in the room, looking from face to face, making sure no one comes too close to his mistress. The dog is on the larger side of medium build, a dusty red color with faint dark stripes across his back, almost like a tiger. Sharp triangular ears and a slightly curled tail.

"You men wait outside the door," Commander Rhodes says. "It's too crowded in here."

After the guards leave, Rhodes speaks again, this time to the prisoner.

"What was that about," he asks.

"Just a difference of opinion concerning human rights," she answers. "May I suggest you tell them to keep their hands to themselves, or the dog will have their hands off at their shoulders. There is only so much voice obedience in an angry dog and I know enough about international human rights law to know that they aren't supposed to be pushing me."

"It will not happen again, I assure you," Rhodes says. "This is Lake, the man you saved. We are grateful to you for saving him."

"You sure have a funny way of showing it, but I know who he is," she says. "I followed them since they left the mission. You think I wouldn't have learned their names?"

"We brought you here to talk with him," Rhodes says.

"Well I generally prefer to have one on one conversations with people I save," she says. "I'm a little uncomfortable with an audience. This is more like an interrogation."

"You are still a prisoner, so you have to be supervised," Rhodes explains.

"As if the cuffs and rough guards aren't enough to remind me of that fact," she remarks. "Fine." She looks directly at Lake and asks, "So what are your questions?"

"Who are you," he asks. "Why did you save me, if it was you who saved me?"

"You doubt that I saved you," she questions.

"I seem to recall a different voice, and there is some doubt in my mind," Lake answers.

"Is it because I'm small and female," she asks.

"Why do you keep answering my questions with questions," Lake asks.

"Do you doubt that I'm capable of saving your life and moving you and the fallen by myself," she asks, ignoring his questions.

"A little, but only because even four men would have trouble moving the bodies over those distances," Lake answers.

"Truth be told, I'm surprised you haven't called me an outright liar," she answers, smiling. "I guess it doesn't really matter, because I won't be able to prove it to you."

"So, who are you," Lake asks again.

"Grace McCann, author, traveler, and adventurer," she answers. "And I might want a JAG lawyer."

At this, one of the guards leans in the door and says, "We have already told her she isn't eligible for a JAG lawyer because she isn't military, hell she isn't even American!"

At this her eyes flash with an indiscernible look, vaguely like amusement. She reaches down and reaches in the side of her boot and removes a card. Then turning to face Commander Rhodes she says, in a distinctly not Australian accent, "Yes. I am eligible for a JAG lawyer." With that she hands him a U.S. military identification card. Every eye in the room stares at her in shock. She laughs, takes a bow and says, "Sergeant Reilly Hartigan, New York National Guard."

A shocked silence fills the room. Commander Rhodes clears his throat and asks, "Sergeant, does your unit know where you are and that there are warrants out for your arrest?"

"Yes and no," Reilly answers.

"Explain," he says.

"My unit knows where I am, but they don't know about the warrants," she says calmly.

"Why don't they know," he asks.

"Do you even know what the warrants are for," she asks.

"No. But-"

"It's because there are no warrants for my arrest," she states, as if it were common knowledge. "Ask your chain of command who told them I was wanted. I'll bet they don't even know."

"What were you doing in Nigeria," Lake interjects.

"I wasn't in Nigeria," she answers. "I was in Cameroon. Then I went into Nigeria"

"What were you doing in Cameroon," Rhodes asks.

"A friend of my family is a missionary there," she says. "I've been helping him out with various projects. His name is Pastor Simeon Zania. He'll vouch for me. Then we heard about the fighting in Nigeria, and he was worried about the missionaries at Saint Michael's. I told him I would go see if they needed help. I heard the missionaries tell your men that they weren't going to leave. I doubted I could change their minds either, but I asked and pleaded and they would not leave. They just told me to give their regards to Pastor Simeon."

"You had quite an assortment of weapons for a traveler," Rhodes remarks.

"I have licenses and travel permits for all of them," she defends. "They would not have made much difference against the numbers of men the rebels had. I figured I could put them to better use defending the refugees your men were escorting."

"How did you manage to hide your presence from us," Red asks. "Lake and I had our eyes and ears open for anyone that wasn't part of our group."

"I'm very good at hide-and-seek," she says mischievously. "Actually you guys came pretty close a couple of times."

"So how did you manage to move Lake and the bodies in such a short time," Rhodes asks.

"Sheer determination," she answers. "Not to be rude but my whole "conversation" with Lake hasn't exactly been between me and him. I've mostly been answering your questions."

"My apologies," the Commander says, getting up. "Red, Doc, let's go. Give them some privacy. Lieutenant Waters will stay and supervise the rest of the visit. And he will walk with you back to your cell. Good day."

After they leave there is a short silence, Reilly breaks it first.

"So did you have any questions that your chain of command didn't put you up to," she asks.

Lake is a bit surprised by her directness, but asks, "What is the dog's name?"

"His name is Jin-Sun," she answers, scratching the dog behind his ears. The dog's ears flick back at the sound of his name and his tail wags a slightly, but he doesn't take his eyes off the two men in the room.

"What breed is he," Lake asks, glad to have found a subject to talk about.

"He is a Jindo," Reilly answers.

"Where did you get him," Lake asks.

"I got him from a dogfighting ring in Indonesia," she answers calmly. "That is part of the reason he keeps staring at you two. It's good that you aren't looking directly at him. It agitates him."

"You have a fighting dog," Lake questions incredulously. "Isn't that illegal in the States?"

"Yes it is and I don't support dogfighting," she replies. "Jin is the best and deadliest fighting dog in all of Asia. I helped the local cops gather evidence of the fighting and when they raided the building, they started shooting the dogs. I stopped them from killing Jin, but he did take a shot to the shoulder. I found a halfway decent vet, who treated Jin's shoulder. It took a little while for us to get used to each other, but now he trusts me. He is my constant shadow. But he doesn't like men. Men abused him and forced him to fight. Although he does seem to tolerate the men in my family. I couldn't have a better travelling companion."

"How long have you had him," Lake asks.

"About a year and a half," she responds. "I got him during my Asian tour. Like I said I'm a traveler. It helps with my writing."

"You said that you're an author," Lake queries.

"Yes," she replies. "I'm an author. Pretty successful too, and a travel, partly, improve my writing and add depth and culture to my stories. Grace McCann is my _nom de plume_. I occasionally sell a travel piece to a magazine or two. They pay pretty well."

"Wow," Lake says. "What do you do with the money?"

"Pay my expenses," Reilly answers with a smile. "I own several houses."

Lake is taken aback by this admission, but manages to ask, "Why do you have several houses if you travel as much as you do? How can you afford it?"

"Well my captain is a stockbroker on the civilian side," she explains, smiling at the shock on the scout's face. "During our deployment, I had him invest a couple thousand dollars for me, and they paid back in multiples. So I bought a couple of houses." The look on her face tells the scout that this is a sensitive subject. "Partly for safety."

"Safety from what," Lake asks.


	3. Chapter 3

"It's no concern of yours, so you'll forgive me if I bear my own burdens," Reilly replies firmly.

Lake is more than a little curious about this woman's peculiar need for several houses for safety. But so far everything about this woman is a curiosity. Lake wasn't sure he liked the confused curiosity that was filling him, he was a scout and therefore preferred to follow things to their end. It was his nature and his job.

"Why would an author or a soldier need safety," Lake wonders aloud, trying to read her expression through his peripherals. "Too many fans? A stalker maybe? Or does it have something to do with the warrants for your arrest?"

At this last thought her face had changed, Lake turned to look at her and read the slightest trace of fear, tinged with anger. Lake was really wondering what those warrants could be, and how a soldier could be wanted and not have their unit know about it. All these thoughts crashed around in his mind, but with a scout's skill, he masked it.

"Maybe someday I'll be able to tell you, but right now you'd think I was telling you a story rather than the truth," she explains.

"Why would I think that," Lake asks.

"Because it sounds unbelievable," she responds. Then says smiling, "I do deal in facts as well as fiction."

She reaches down and rubs Jin-Sun's ears. "No one could ever believe something like my story is real."

"I'd like to decide for myself, if its all the same to you," Lake answers.

Before she can reply, one of the guards sticks his head in and says its time for her to go back to her cell. Both guards re-enter and reach to grab her arms, backing away quickly when the dog snaps at them. Luckily LT steps in before things get out of hand.

"I'll go along as well," he says, staring at the guards daring them to contradict him. Reilly stands, says goodbye to Lake, and before he can say anything else she is pushed towards the door. LT turns to him, "Don't worry. We got a foot in the door. The commander and I will get permission for more visits. And I'll make sure that either myself, Doc, or Red escort her to and from her cell with the guards." With that he leaves and Lake is left with even more curiosity about his "angel."


	4. Chapter 4

That night, Lake dreamed of the last battle in the jungle. The refugee girl that he had been trying to save. He kept seeing her death over and over. Each time he saw a possible way to save her, but was unable to protect her nonetheless. Saw himself causing her death. Saw her fall onto a pile of bodies. Saw her join the ranks of the ghosts that haunted his dreams. All the people he had seen die.

Lake woke up, soaked in sweat, pulse beating wildly.

Why? Why was I unable to save her, he thought in despair. I failed her. I failed everyone. What kind of scout, what kind of warrior leads people into this?

Thoughts of doubt and failure robbed Lake of sleep that night and for several nights. The doctor cleared Lake to walk around the room and supplied him some exercises. The team rotated visits amongst them. Red and Doc always tried to lighten his spirits. One day, about a week after the attack, LT Waters came in with a grim expression on his face.

"They are planning on extraditing her to an embassy in Germany," he said. "They say she is dangerous and must be brought in. The commander is trying to buy some time for us to get answers. Rhodes told them that they'll have to come and get her, which means they'll need to get permission to land here, set a flight plan, and make a bunch of preparations to move her."

"We can't let them do it, sir," Lake exclaimed. "She saved my life!"

"We don't know that for sure. She could be lying," Waters countered half-heartedly.

"She's not, sir. I can feel it in my bones," Lake stated. "I need to talk to her again."

"It's already been arranged," Waters said. But keep that on the quiet. No one is supposed to have any contact with her."

That afternoon, Reilly and Jin-Sun were escorted in by the LT and Red. The two guards stayed out in the hallway. Waters and Red stepped out in the hall to wait. Reilly sat in a chair next to his bed and Jin lay down at her feet facing the door. She gave Lake a long assessing stare before speaking.

"You aren't sleeping well," she stated.

"How do you know," Lake asked.

"You aren't the only one with good eyes, you know," Reilly said. "Your face is drawn and your eyes are haunted. Are you having bad dreams?"

"Why does that-" Lake began.

"Because PTSD is no joke," she answered. "I've seen stubborn warriors like you pretend to have it all together and then crumble. What is it? What are you dreaming about?"

Are you asking because you want to know or to keep me from asking you questions," Lake questioned.

"I thought we had already established that I give a damn about your well-being," Reilly said. "And because you wouldn't believe my answers anyway."

"Try me," Lake challenged.

"You answer me first, then I'll answer you. Fair," she asked.

"I…I see…the ghosts. The ghosts of the people who've died on my watch or died at my hand," Lake answered hesitantly. "I see all the ways I could have saved them, but when I try, I can't. I still make the same mistakes and fail. Over and over again."

"You see the refugee girl who died," she asked gently.

"Yes. And think of all the times I wanted to cut them loose and leave them. I wonder if I had given a damn sooner, maybe I could have saved her."

"Are you God," she asked.

"No."

"Phew," she exclaimed. "I thought for a second you had complete control over life and death."

Lake closed his eyes and said nothing.

Reilly reached out and gently grabbed his hand. Lake opened his eyes and looked at her. She didn't look at him with pity. Only with understanding.

"You do not have power over life and death. It is not your burden to bear. Why do you take it on yourself? You did not fail her. Your body is proof of that. You bear the scars of protecting her. But you did not cause her death, evil men did. You didn't want to help them, but you did. You were willing to die, and very nearly did, for total strangers."

Lake was speechless.

"Do you think she would have blamed you? What do you think was on her mind before she died? That you failed her or that you tried to protect her? You are a guardian and a warrior. That is why you are such a great scout. It is in your very nature, down to the marrow of your bones to protect. The ghosts of those who have died at your hand, they were evil men, right?"

"Yes," Lake answered.

"By killing them, you saved lives," she said. "It is a heavy burden to take a life, even an evil one. But it is something you have to let go. Leave it on the battlefield."

"I can't promise anything," Lake said.

"I'm not asking you to," she answered. "I just want you to try."

"My turn," Lake said. "Why are there warrants out for your arrest?"

"There aren't any real warrants," Reilly said. "It's true that I'm wanted, but not by any law enforcement."

"Why," Lake asked.

"I blew up a lab," she answered calmly.


	5. Chapter 5

After this little bombshell, Lake found himself with a million more questions, but was speechless with shock.

"Why? How," he questioned.

"Because they were using that lab for illegal experimentation," Reilly answered. "They were hurting people."

Lake tried to absorb this.

How were they hurting people," he asked.

"They were conducting genetic experiments," she answered. Lake noticed her eyes became strained and her fists were beginning to clench. The dog stood up and watched her instead of the door.

"How did you find out about this lab? Did you tell the authorities," Lake asked.

"I was one of their test subjects, their only successful subject," she answered. "I am the only remaining evidence of their playing God. And they need to get me back. I did tell the authorities and they tried to commit me. Turns out, these guys were in the scientist's pocket. They knew and were paid not to interfere. So I ran for my life. I decided to put an end to their work."

By this time Reilly's knuckles were white. Jin-Sun nudged her hand and let out a rumbling growl. She looked at her hands and unclenched them, but the strained look never left her eyes. The dog laid his head in her lap and watched her. Lake saw a far away look in her eyes and wonder where she had gone in that moment.

"I went back to the lab in the middle of the night. I managed to get into the control room. I knew the passcode for the computers, they didn't know I'd figured it out from watching them. I logged on and started wiping the system. Every nook and cranny. Destroyed all their notes, everything I could find. I know my way around a computer and no amount of programming could recover their data. They caught me smashing all the monitors and servers. I escaped but knew I'd have to go back to finish what I started. I came back a few nights later, hoping to free the other experiments. But most of them had died from complications from their experiments, the rest had been killed by the scientists. They were prepping to move all the bodies to another lab to study them their and hopefully rebuild. I knew I couldn't let that happen. I placed timed charges in the generator room and in the control room. I hit the fire alarm and everyone evacuated the building, then I blew the charges. Nothing survived the blast. All the bodies of the experimental creatures, all the notes and files, everything went up in flames."


	6. Chapter 6

"I don't know how many years had been sunk into their experiments, but their life's work is all gone. Except for me. They need to get me back to try and recoup some of that knowledge. To map my DNA and find out why I worked and others didn't. I can't let that happen."

Lake is silent as he tries to process all of this. He looks into her eyes and sees sincerity. Doubts swirl through his mind like a hurricane. She sees this.

"It sounds absolutely insane doesn't it?"

He nods. A strange look fills her eyes, a mixture of sorrow and anger.

"Nobody believed it. I never even told my family what was done to me."

"How did they get you," Lake asks.

"I was on an overseas deployment training mission and got hurt falling off a vehicle. They took me to a local hospital for treatment. The doctor said I needed to stay for observation. As soon as my superiors left, they sedated me, and I woke up in agonizing pain. It was like I was on fire from the inside out. When the pain finally stopped, I realized that I was locked up. I demanded to know what was going on. The scientists told me that my unit was told that I had died from undiscovered internal bleeding. That I no longer existed and that nobody would be looking for me. They said they were recreating me, improving me. What they did was play God and make me into a freak. They didn't realize how strong I was or how resourceful."

Lake watches as she speaks and sees her reliving every agonizing moment in her mind. He has no idea what they did, and as unbelievable as it sounded, he believed her.

"How do they try to catch you," he asks.

"Any way they can," she relies wearily. "They've tried mercenaries, traps, everything. They have friends in high places and have got them to look for me by pretending there are warrants out for my arrest. Obviously they have someone in the government who is in their pocket. I'm surprised they haven't arrived yet."

"They are arranging to come get you," Lake blurted out. "They demanded that we hand you over. Rhodes stalled them saying that they'd have to come here to pick you up themselves."

"What? Why would he do that," Reilly asks bewildered.

"Because LT and I asked him to stall them," Lake says. "He doesn't want to repay your saving me by turning you over without the facts. He told them they'd have to arrange their own transport, set flight plans, and basically set up all the red tape he could think of."

"Why would you guys stand up for me," she asks.


	7. Chapter 7

"Commander Rhodes is probably willing to do it because he can't stand being pushed around from shadows," Lake said shrewdly. "And as impossible as it sounds, you probably are the one that saved me. I still want to know how you managed that."

"Maybe someday I'll be able to show you how, but not here," Reilly answered. "Not like this."

Lake could see the strain on her face and it filled him with a strong desire to know more.

"You said your unit knows where you are," Lake questioned. "But you said they were told you were dead."

"I just told them it was a clerical error due to complications in my treatment," she answered. "They were happy enough to see me alive and well that they took it as truth. Now I write stories under my _nome du plume_ and travel under that name. It has afforded me a good deal of security."

"How can I help you," Lake asked quietly.

At this question, Reilly looked deep into his eyes, trying to read what she saw there. Slowly she reached into her boot, pulled out a small card, and hand it to him.

"That is my parents address," she whispered. "Tell them what happened to me, that I love them and my sibs. Can you make sure Jin-Soon is sent to them? I don't want him to be taken away with me, they'd destroy him. Or experiment on him just to torment me."

The thought of anyone hurting the innocent had always angered Lake, it was why he had become a SEAL, to stop evil men. But the thought of someone harming this woman enraged him! Some small part of his mind considered that she might be lying, but all he could read in her was sincerity.

"There has to be more that I can do," Lake whispered urgently.

"I imagine your unit is in plenty of hot water for interfering with the government of what is now a hostile nation, I wouldn't have you destroy your career for me," she said firmly. "That is what it would take, and I can't have that. You and your men have a unique opportunity to save lives and you must continue to do that."

Before Lake could argue, one of the guards announced that her visit was over. She didn't even spare a glance for the guard, she looked into Lake's eyes and stood up. Before Lake realized what was happening she leaned over and kissed him! The shock was still registering, but Lake kissed her back. It seemed like everything slowed down and condensed to just this point of contact. He was aware of nothing but the feel of her lips, the taste of her. The moment was ripped from him as the guards grabbed her and pushed her from the room.


End file.
